The Paladins' Downfall
Back to Lore Books Text In the era of the Gods, the elite soldiers of the Divine Ones were called paladins, or "misty-grey warriors" because a paladin was always clad in misty-grey armour. As the belief in the seven gods spread further after the city Erothin was founded, the religion also reached the northern regions of Nehrim. The Normans living there were the bravest and toughest warriors the world had ever seen. The Gods and their seraphim recognized this and recruited the Norman warriors for themselves. From these warriors, the elite Order of the Paladins was founded; an order that was to be the second military hand of the Gods, besides the seraphim, for the number of seraphim was not great and would not be enough to control the whole world. I wrote the following report after a talk with Chancellor Barateon who was present at the fall of the Order. The Fall of the Misty-Grey Warriors A thunderous storm lay over Erothin. The city seemed as if it were born of a nightmare; swarms of crows covered the sky and circled around the city's towers. Commander Barateon was knelt in silent prayer in the middle of the plaza in front of Erodan's fort. The fort was engulfed in flames, all the entrances were sealed from within. The only thing Barateon knew was that the God Erodan and the army of seraphim had set forth for Treomar to put a stop to the threat coming from the town in recent times. He had not been told the reason why this was necessary. As the commander of the city guard of Erothin, the wars of the Gods did not concern him; his duty was to defend the city itself. And he currently seemed to be failing that... Erodan's tower was being consumed by flames and the entrances were sealed from the inside. He did not know what had happened, but heard terrible cries from within. Tealor Arantheal, Commander of the Inquisition, had disappeared along with all his men. "Commander Barateon! What happened? The whole city is in uproar, the tower's fire is surely to be seen all the way from the northern mountains!" Surprised, he looked up. Next to him stood the proud figure of a paladin, dressed in his misty-grey plated armour. "Call all the guards together, they are all to leave their posts at once and hurry to the fort.. I .. I don't know myself. Someone or something must have made its way into the inside of the tower... Tealor's men should be defending the fort while Erodan and the seraphim are at war, but I don't hear or see anything of them.." "What is going on here, Barateon? Has Erodan fallen in battle?" The strong man tilted his head to the side and looked at him beseechingly. "I fear so, soldier. I cannot find any other explanation for it. Erodan would be able to prevent all this." "Perhaps I can give you the answer!", a decisive voice thundered throughout the plaza, making all the paladins whirl around. The entry to the fort had been opened at that moment and a man staggered out of the large gate of the bastion. He had taken off his old armour, but Barateon could still see clearly who it was. "I am glad to see you, Narathzul Arantheal. What has happened here? Where is your father? And what a sight you are!" The young paladin had approached Arantheal without hesitation and was now climbing the steps towards him. Something wasn't right.. why was Arantheal smiling? "Well, my young friend, today a new era has begun. An era without gods. Erodan is dead already, fallen to my hand. The tormented people of the Aeterna are rising up against their oppressors. Never again will your gods rule over Nehrim!" Before the paladin could even answer, Arantheal beheaded the young man with a brutal swing of his magical sword. Commander Barateon and his men had completely lost their poise and stared at the decapitated head that slowly rolled down the steps. The paladin next to Barateon was the first to avert his gaze and pulled his sword from his sheath. "Kill him! Arantheal has betrayed us!" Hundreds of paladins pulled their swords and hastened like a deadly storm of steel towards Arantheal who still appeared to be calm. Even before his men could reach the traitor, Barateon realized that it was useless. It was something in Arantheal's eyes that was clear to him. "Child's play.." Arantheal's voice was but a quiet murmur. Like a sorceror he thrust his hands into the air and the clouds above them formed themselves into an eye of a storm. The wind grabbed Barateon's men and slung them across the fort plaza like bags of straw, flinging them against walls with so much force that red stains were to be seen where they hit the stone. Without paying any more attention to the dead, Arantheal leisurely walked up to the commander of the city guard and smiled. "It would seem I have not made myself positively clear yet.. " The coldness in his eyes and the burning tower behind him gave Arantheal quite a ghostly aura as he slowly walked up to the rest of the Order's members. "Well then, Commander Barateon, would you like to remain alive?" Barateon's legs were shaking as the piercing gaze fell upon him and looked right into the depths of his soul. "Yes.. yes.. of course.." An amused smile crept over Arantheal's pale lips. "Then so be it. You and your men here shall live.. you shall serve me.. kneel down and swear eternal allegiance to me, Narathzul Arantheal!" As Barateon sank to his knees, from the corner of his eye he saw all his men do the same. A battle would be hopeless. How could Arantheal have obtained so much power? "I swear allegiance to you, Master Arantheal." The oath from dozens of mouths rose up to the darkened sky to become one with the seething chaos. After Aranthel was captured by the Gods, the survivors spread out over the whole of Vyn. Barateon took over the reign of Erothin and is now one of the few survivors of the Order of Paladins, apart from Narathzul Arantheal, who is supposedly still imprisoned somewhere today. This man betrayed the Order and the Gods, killed a vast number of people and was therefore sentenced to lifelong imprisonment by the council of the Gods. Nobody knows what happened to his father, Tealor Arantheal, or his men. They were inside the fort of Erothin as Narathzul had appeared there and were never seen again. It is also unknown how Narathzul Arantheal could conquer the fort alone or even how he managed to enter Erothin. It is known that the God Erodan fell in the battle of Treomar on the same day, in which Narathzul Arantheal also fought. Notes Category:Books